Ozark Mountain Daredevils - If You Want To Get To Heaven - Lyrics in des...

Take a Break

 

Genders

 

Crimes

 

Months

 

Crack

 

In The NEWS

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> "Wicked" sequel gets official title "Wicked: For Good" with film set for November 2025 release date (More) | Lionel Messi-inspired animated series tapped for Disney Channel and Disney+ (More)

> Jill Jacobson, actress known for roles on "Falcon Crest" and "Star Trek," dies at 70 (More) | Dick Van Arsdale, three-time NBA All-Star, dies at 81 (More)

> Documentary in the works by filmmaker Alex Gibney about the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson (More) | Jamie Lee Curtis in talks to play lead role in upcoming "Murder, She Wrote" film (More)


Science & Technology
> Google's DeepMind reveals Veo 2, the latest update to its AI-generated video platform; product is meant to compete with OpenAI's Sora (More) | Generative AI 101, from how it works to why it hallucinates (1440 Topics)

> James Webb Space Telescope confirms two-decade-old mystery, finds evidence planets bigger than Jupiter formed around stars much earlier in the universe than predicted by theory (More) | Explaining the JWST in four minutes (More, w/video)

> Researchers discover closest known relative to Psilocybe cubensis, also known as magic mushrooms; fungi potentially reached North America as much as a million years earlier than believed (More)


Business & Markets
> US stock markets close mixed (S&P 500 +0.4%, Dow -0.3%, Nasdaq +1.2%); Nasdaq notches record ahead of Federal Reserve's interest rate decision tomorrow (More) | Nvidia closes in correction territory, down roughly 11% from record close last month (More) | Bitcoin hits new record midday, briefly surpassing $107K (More)

> TikTok asks Supreme Court to block the US' divest-or-ban law pending an appeal of a lower-court ruling to uphold the law taking effect Jan. 19 (More) | Ken Leech, former co-chief investment officer at Western Asset Management Co., pleads not guilty to federal charges over improperly allocating trades to favored clients (More)

> Honeywell considers spin-off of lucrative aerospace business—a move backed by activist investor Elliott Investment Management, which took a $5B stake in the conglomerate last month (More)


Politics & World Affairs
> Japanese tech giant SoftBank pledges to invest $100B into US companies over next four years and create 100,000 jobs; SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son, who met with President-elect Donald Trump yesterday, made a similar pledge in 2016 (More)

> Former FBI informant pleads guilty to fabricating claim that President Joe Biden and his son Hunter accepted bribes from a Ukrainian energy company; false claim was used as part of evidence in GOP-led efforts to investigate Biden family (More)

> Canada's Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland resigns following dispute with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over tax policy and the country's response to Trump's tariff threats (More)

SOURCE:  1440 NEWS

Education

 

I heard this morning that the auto industry is in need of 35,000 auto mechanics (automotive technician).  It takes no college at all to become an automotive technician.

The average college tuition is $30-$50,000/year or $120-$200,000 for a complete 4-year education.  However, since there are so many 4-year degree graduates out there, employers are recommending that if you want to advance, you need a master's degree - another 2 years.

To save money, one could go to a Community College for the first two years and then transfer to a college or university, but do you want to spend all that money on education when you will spend the majority of your career paying off that educational loan.

One should seriously consider going to a Community College and pursue a TECHNICAL degree in something like:

• auto mechanics
• heavy duty mechanics
• computers
• electronics
• electricity
• carpentry
• plumbing
• heating & air conditioning
• programming
• criminal justice
• construction
• physical therapy
• massage therapy
• nursing
• paralegal
• etc.

Another idea is to apply for a job in retailing, hospitality, restaurants, manufacturing, real estate, life insurance, and/or maintenance.

No matter what career that you pursue, you are going to have to PAY YOUR DUES anywhere from 10-20 years before you move up through the ranks and attain one of those few high paying management jobs. 

ALL CAREER LEVELS HAVE THEM...  it just takes time to get there.

Somewhat Political

 

Webb Telescope Confirms: Universe is Expanding

WASHINGTON, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Fresh corroboration of the perplexing observation that the universe is expanding more rapidly than expected has scientists pondering the cause - perhaps some unknown factor involving the mysterious cosmic components dark energy and dark matter.

Two years of data from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope have now validated the Hubble Space Telescope's earlier finding that the rate of the universe's expansion is faster - by about 8% - than would be expected based on what astrophysicists know of the initial conditions in the cosmos and its evolution over billions of years. The discrepancy is called the Hubble Tension.  READ MORE...

Steppenwolf - "Born To Be Wild"

Taxes

 

Cat

 

Child

 

Slide

 

Expreso Machine

 

In The NEWS

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> Zakir Hussain, legendary Indian tabla player and four-time Grammy winner, dies at age 73 (More) | Taylor Swift No. 1 on Billboard's year-end Top Artist chart for second straight year, first artist to top the year-end chart four times since it launched in 1981 (More)

> Milwaukee Bucks beat the Atlanta Hawks and Oklahoma City Thunder defeat Houston Rockets in 2024 NBA Cup semifinals; Bucks and Thunder matchup in second-ever NBA Cup final tomorrow (More)

> Warner Bros. Discovery opts not to renew deal to air new episodes of "Sesame Street" on HBO and Max (More) | "Kraven The Hunter" brings in just $11M in its opening weekend, lowest-ever opener for a Sony-produced Marvel film (More)


Science & Technology
> Louisiana reports its first human case of H5N1 bird flu, patient hospitalized; around 60 human cases have been confirmed nationwide but no human-to-human transmission observed; officials say threat to public remains low (More) | See bird flu stats (More)

> AI-powered blood screening detects signs of breast cancer at stages earlier than existing tests; technique detected stage 1A tumor presence with 98% accuracy (More)

> Astronomers observe a particle jet emanating from M87*—the first black hole to ever be imaged—with energy tens of millions of times greater than visible light (More) | Fascinated by black holes but don't know how they work? Start here (More)


Business & Markets
> US stock markets close mixed Friday (S&P 500 -0.0%, Dow -0.2%, Nasdaq +0.1%), with Dow's seven-day losing streak the longest since 2020 (More)

> Broadcom's stock jumps 24% to all-time high Friday, pushing the company past $1T valuation; news came after Broadcom's quarterly earnings call spurred reports the company is working to develop AI server chips for Apple and OpenAI (More)

> Amazon workers at two New York warehouses authorize possible strike after setting a Dec. 15 deadline for union contract bargaining dates; roughly 5,500 workers threaten to walk out days before Christmas (More)


Politics & World Affairs
> Cyclone Chido hits French territory of Mayotte as Category 4 storm, the most destructive cyclone to hit the Indian Ocean island in 90 years; 11 people confirmed dead and 250 injured as of this writing, with death toll expected to rise to several hundred or more (More)

> ABC News agrees to pay $15M and $1M in attorneys' fees to settle President-elect Donald Trump's defamation case over anchor George Stephanopoulos' false claims Trump had been found civilly liable of raping E. Jean Carroll; a Manhattan court found Trump civilly liable of sexual battery, not rape (More)

> An alleged Chinese spy attended a 2020 birthday party for Britain's Prince Andrew and was authorized to act on the prince's behalf in Chinese business dealings, UK court hears (More)

SOURCE:  1440 NEWS

Good Health

 

When I was 40 years old, I gave up smoking, drinking alcohol eating red meat, fried food, and sugars.  In order to keep me honest, I eat 1-2 cheeseburgers a year, 3-4 pizzas a year, eat a couple of snickers each year, and have maybe 1-2 glasses of wine around Christmas.

I also started a daily exercise routine (seven days a week) that included walking outside or on the treadmill, working with strength machines for an hour.  

My routine also included a healthy diet where I tried to eat less than 2000 calories/day but never over 2500 calories/day.

This diet included:

• fish
• chicken 
• turkey
• colored vegetables
• a variety of beans
• onions
• bell peppers
• garlic

My total cholesterol (both good and bad) was 84.

However, all my exercising and diet, did not stop me from experiencing a triple bypass level heart attack while walking on the treadmill.  It did not stop me from experiencing spinal stenosis that resulted in me having L2-L3, L4, L5, & S1 fused together two years ago.

While my exercise contributed to my problems, my good health saved my life, and my overall health kept my physical condition from BEING WORSE than it was.

Somewhat Political

 

New Retirement Age in 2025

The new year will bring a series of changes to Social Security. Every year the Social Security Administration announces a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) which applies to beneficiaries’ payments starting with the disbursement that corresponds to January.

The increase this year was 2.5% which will also raise the amount contributors must earn for each Social Security credit, also known as a “quarter of coverage,” as well as the wage cap for Social Security taxes. Furthermore, beneficiaries will have to wait a little longer to reach full retirement age.   READ MORE...